The Understanding of Sufism - Dissertation Example

?Sufism: Contemporary Challenges Facing Sufis in Egypt Table of Contents Research Question 3 Research Focus 3 Literature Review 5 Methodologies 6 Chapter Outlines 7 Work Schedule 9 References 11 Research Question “How do manifestations of Sufism differ, or not, from modern Islamic movements?” Research Focus Baldick (2012) stresses that in order to acquire the understanding regarding the Sufism, it is crucial to examine the historical background concerning with the rise of Islam in the Seventh century CE (Baldick, 2012). Sufism is generally the name given to mystical Islam. It is worth mentioning that the term ‘Sufism’ embraces the philosophy and practices which aim at direct communication between God and man. Accordingly, those people practising Sufism are known as Sufi (Nasir & Malik, 2013). In the similar context, Schielke (2007) states that from 14th century to 19th century Sufism was central to Islamic devoutness in Egypt. The ruling groups in Egypt were strongly attached to Sufism and until 19th century it maintained close but stressed contact with the tradition of scholarship expressed by Al-Azhar (Schielke, 2007; Nahas, 1982.). Responsively, Chittick (2006) argues those people who use the word Sufism in a positive sense is embedded with the broad range of ideologies propounded by prophet Muhammad (Chittick, 2006). Furthermore, ‘Sufism’ as a religious and mystical existence within the Islamic tradition has widely been subjected to the strains of modernisation experienced across the Muslim world. However, it can be argued that principle of Sufism teaches people to explore the thoughts beyond the veils of darkness as well as it bestow people respect and reverence for other people. It can be stated that Sufism is extremely important in the modern world as it emphasise on purity of souls and discourages people to engage in any inhuman behaviour (Bruinessen & Howell, 2007; Ohtsuka, 1990). According to Raudvere & Stenberg (2008), in the contemporary religious life, Sufism and Sufi ceremonials are one of the few areas where Islam has had an influence on late contemporary spiritual manifestation. The correspondences of Sufi order to political parties were further postulated. In relation to contemporary Sufism, it has been stated that Sufi orders are emerging as trans-local in Mandaville’s accepting of the concept, far from limited to a specific state only (McCants, 2012; Raudvere & Stenberg, 2008). Rosander & Westerlund (1997) assert that election to a great extent is regulated by the Sufi leaders’ instructions to the supporters and the spiritual authority in order to help the economic and religious leaders to communicate with government. It was propagated that political establishment and the religious elite are closely related but mostly in a concealed manner. Sufism is also exists in Sunni and Shi’i communities. The path followed by Sufi longs for ensuring explicit experience of God (Pinto, 2003). In this regard, Brown (2011) argues that the continuum of political Islam within Egypt is no further restricted to Muslim Brotherhood and the parties that spring from it. In its place, the political Islam in Egypt includes Salafi parties and Sufi parties which have been able to influence the political Islam in Egypt to a considerable extent (Brown, 2011). According to Hoffman (2009), Sufism possesses an important position in the Islamic spirituality (Hoffman, 2009). Thus, this proposed dissertation intends to analyse the concept of Sufism and the contemporary challenges facing Sufis in Egypt. The dissertation also aims at exploring the broad aspect of Sufism in various contexts of Egypt. Correspondingly, these broad aspects intended to be analysed in this dissertation will encompass, identifying pathway of Sufism and their spiritual activities followed by representing the modern day practices of Sufis. Furthermore, this dissertation will aim at analysing Sufi orders in contemporary Egypt and their influence on society. The proposed dissertation will attempt to relate Sufism and modern movements in Egypt such as Brotherhood and Salafi accompanied with identifying the differences amid each other in terms of their faith, philosophy and political ideas. In addition, this proposed dissertation will also intend to highlight the role of Sufism in political context of Egypt particularly during the national crisis such as recent revolution and general election. Literature Review In order to draw significant judgement along with understanding, a wide range of reliable sources will be compiled and used for the purpose of the dissertation. The assimilated sources for the dissertation will include books, recently published journals and articles and valid websites. Furthermore, the sources that will be taken into consideration shall be primarily focussed upon Sufism in the context of Egypt. These sources will aid in deriving considerable understanding regarding the challenges faced by Sufism in the modern Egyptian context on the ground of social and political aspects. Methodologies The dissertation will be based on the qualitative research approach and both secondary as well as primary source of data collection method will be used in order to ensure reliability and validity of the dissertation. The application of qualitative research design will facilitate in drawing an in-depth insight and understanding regarding the research subject. In order to ascertain primary data for the dissertation, face-to-face structured interview will be conducted with a few prominent and intellectual personalities. The interviewee for the dissertation will include Shaikh Syed Abdul Baais al Kattani, a prominent scholar and author of many books in Egypt, Shaik Md Yahya al Kattani, a prominent scholar and Imam in Alexandria, Dr. Abu Lyla, Head of Islamic studies department in English, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Shaikh Hussain al Bayumi, A well-known Sufi song singer from Aswan, Egypt and Muhammad Mustafa, A secondary School Teacher in Alexandria. During the interview with these intellectual personalities, questions regarding the challenges faced by Sufis’ as well as role in the contemporary environment of Egypt will be asked. The data obtained from the interview and secondary sources will be analysed through narrative technique. The findings from the interview conducted will facilitate in acquiring an understanding regarding the current status of sufis’ and the challenges faced by them in the modern Egyptian context embedded to various aspects such as political and social perspectives. Furthermore, due importance will be placed on ethical consideration. Chapter Outlines Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background of Sufism 1.2 Significance of Research Study 1.3 Research Aim and Objectives 1.4 Research Question Chapter 2: Literature Review Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Research Overview 3.2 Research Design 3.3 Research Approach (Qualitative Approach) 3.4 Data Collection Methods (Secondary and Primary) 3.5 Sample (Interview Respondents) 3.6 Data Analysis (Narrative Analysis) 3.7 Reliability and Validity 3.8 Ethical Consideration Chapter 4: Results and Discussion 4.1 Results 4.2 Discussion Chapter 5: Conclusion Work Schedule Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 November Proposal plan Commencing writing proposal Finishing writing proposal and submission (9th November 2013) Start in-depth reading and research In-depth reading December Reading Reading Structuring essay point First draft for Chapter one January Conducting Literature review Conducting Literature review Conducting Literature review Data collection February Data collection Summarising Data Results and Analysis Results and Analysis March Discussion of Findings Discussion of Findings Checking and re-checking analytical and evaluation errors Writing Conclusion April Writing Conclusion Making necessary amendments Final Re-checking Final submission of dissertation (30th April 2014) References Brown, J., 2011. Salafis and Sufis in Egypt. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Baldick, J., 2012. Mystical Islam: An Introduction to Sufism. I.B.Tauris. Chittick, W., 2000. Sufism: A Short Introduction. Oxford. Hoffman, J. V., 2009. Sufism, Mystics and Saints in Modern Egypt. “The” University of South Carolina. McCants, W., 2012. The Lesser of Two Evils: The Salafi Turn to Party Politics in Egypt. Memo Number 23, pp. 1-7. Nahas, G. G., 1982. Hashish in Islam 9th To 18th Century. Bull. N.Y. Acad. Med., Vol. 58, No. 9, pp. 814-831. Nasir, R. & Malik, A. A., 2013. Role and Importance of Sufism in Modern World. International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Vol. 2, Iss. 1, pp. 1-9. Ohtsuka, K., 1990. How Is Islamic Knowledge Acquired in Modem Egypt? CUZama, Sufis, Fundamentalists and Common People. Senri Ethnological Studies, Vol. 28, pp. 67-82. Pinto, P., 2003. Dangerous Liaisons: Sufism and the State in Syria. IWM Junior Visiting Fellows' Conferences, Vol. 14, pp. 1-10. Raudvere, C. & Stenberg, L., 2008. Sufism Today: Heritage and Tradition in the Global Community. I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd. Rosander, E. & Westerlund, D., 1997. African Islam and Islam in Africa: Encounters between Sufis and Islamists. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. Schielke, S., 2007. Hegemonic Encounters: Criticism of Saints-Day Festivals and the formation of Modern Islam in Late 19th and Early 20th century Egypt. Die Welt des Islams, Vol. 47, pp. 3-4. Van Bruinessen, M. & Howell, J. D., 2007. Sufism and the ‘Modern’ In Islam. I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd. Read More